Car sales drive Singapore’s retail sales up by 6.1%

Ironically, petrol service station sales dropped the most.

Motor vehicle sales almost single-handedly towed Singapore’s retail sales as it grew by 5% compared to last month. Excluding motor sales, retail sales would only grow by a measly 1.3% from last year.

According to data from the Department of Statistics, car sales almost doubled (43.9%) since last year, illustrating the gravity of the pull.

Meanwhile, total retail sales value is at an estimated $3.5b, higher than $3.3b from August 2014.

The massive scale of motor sales growth picked up the slack for ailing sectors such as the petrol service station sales, optical goods and books, and food and beverages, whose retail sales fell by 20%, 11.8%, and 6.4% yoy respectively.

Medical goods and services trailed car sales in growth, elevating by 10.9%, while watches and jewellery followed with an 8.7% growth.